The Punjab government is likely to bail out the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) of all litigations pertaining to land and grants over the international stadium in Mohali.
In return, the government is contemplating to accept the PCA’s offer to build an international stadium in Bathinda, which Punjab had approved recently, said top officials.
The Punjab cabinet is likely to approve the deal at its meeting on Wednesday. The compromise would end the year-old litigations filed by the Punjab State Sports Council (PSSC) against the PCA.
If this was any indication to the PCA-PSSC ‘patch-up’, the proceedings in the eviction and recovery cases filed by the PSSC against the PCA before the court of Mohali SDM were today adjourned till July 29.
During the hearing of the case in June, Sports Director-cum-PSSC Secretary former Olympian Pargat Singh and two employees of PSSC had recorded their evidence. In an affidavit, Pargat had not only challenged the ‘illegal’ lease deed dated June 16, 1992, through which PCA is sitting over prime PSSC land for a period of 99 years against Rs 100 per annum, but had also raised the recovery amount to Rs 600 crore.
Claiming that PSSC is authorised to recover the use and occupation charges from PCA with 18 per cent interest, the former Olympian had submitted that with the PCA recently earning over Rs 300 crore from the Indian Premier League (IPL) Kings XI Punjab franchise co-owners Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia, the recovery amount has gone up to Rs 600 crore.
PSSC employees Pardhan Singh, who has since retired and Amrik Singh had filed separate affidavits that they never met PCA president I S Bindra and Secretary M P Pandove during signing of the alleged lease deed. They claimed that it was only on the asking of their then Superintendent Ishar Singh that they had signed on the deed documents without having any knowledge of its contents or legality.
Today, the PSSC was ready to opt forth its remaining witnesses for examination but the SDM fixed July 29 as the next date in the case, confirmed the PSSC counsel Dr Surya Parkash.
Posted By Staff Reporter
in Punjab News
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